Deathwing's Rider
by general zargon
Summary: .When Leon went to work that day, he never expected to fall through a portal into the land of Azeroth, and he certainly never expected to wind up traveling around with the most feared Black Dragon of all time. What's a guy to do? Rated for future chapters
1. Prologue

General Zargon: As far as I know, this is the first World of Warcraft & Petshop of Horrors crossover out there, so I pray that I don't butcher it too badly…Anyway! Enjoy the story!

Ryuuketsu: The author does not own World of Warcraft or Petshop of Horrors; if he did he wouldn't be writing this story now would he? Enjoy the chapter.

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The sun was just going down, and all was peaceful. The wind blew through the trees, creating a light whistling sound, the day animals were settling down to go to sleep, and the night animals were just then waking up. The birds in the trees were chirping to each other as they settled in, and off in the distance a wolf howled, soon followed by another as its cry was answered. Suddenly, the wind picked up alarmingly, causing branches to lash out, and birds and other animals to cling desperately to any sturdy surface in order to avoid being blown away.

The wind continued to speed up, becoming a horrible wailing. The trees swayed alarmingly, some of their branches being snapped off, caught in the sudden maelstrom of wind. Off in the distance, packs of wolves suddenly began howling, almost as if they could sense that something momentous was happening. The howls of the wolves blended in with the screaming of the wind, creating such an awful noise that even the foulest demons in the Twisting Nether would shake in terror of it. Deep in the forest, night terrors shifted and sank further into the shadows; not wanting to attract the attention of whatever it was that had caused the forest itself to scream.

The maelstrom continued raging, the horrible wailing caused by the wind and the wolves only growing louder by the moment. Lightning suddenly began snapping through the sky, soon joined by roaring thunder. A few bolts struck the ground with enough force to cause the ground to crack, as if someone had gripped a glass just a little too hard. A few trees caught fire, but the flames were quickly extinguished by the howling winds. The raging storm continued, growing more powerful by the second, as though it was building up to something. As the wolves howled again, the wailing grew to a fever pitch, and then there was a thunderous '_crack_' that drowned out all the other noise for a moment.

Mere seconds after the crack had sounded, it seemed as though something had ripped open the very sky itself, a jagged portal appearing in the sky right above a single clearing. If anyone had been out in the nightmarish storm, and if they had looked up into the portal, they would have seen that the inside of the portal looked like a gateway into outer space, it being pitch black with slight specks of white light that looked like stars, and there were a few purple stripes that drifted and twisted like galaxies. As it was, though, no one was around to witness what was about to happen. As the maelstrom grew even stronger, seemingly centered on the portal, the winds were joined by a force that emanated from the portal.

In the depths of the portal, a shape seemed to materialize out of the darkness, swirls of color forming into a vaguely humanoid shape. All of a sudden, it seemed as though time stood still, the noise of the storm abruptly being cut off, as it seemed as though time itself was holding its breath. The shape becoming more defined, the swirls of color finally solidifying into the form of a man. The form hovered there for a few moments, and then abruptly began to fall out of the sky. As if that was the trigger, everything seemed to start up again. The wind began wailing again, the wolves began howling again, and thunder began roaring again.

The portal abruptly began shrinking in on itself, and when it got to be about a fourth of its' original size, it snapped shut with another _crack_, and vanished as though it had never been there. The man that had come out of the portal continued to fall through the air, until he landed harshly on the hard ground in the middle of the clearing. A loud _snap! _reverberated through the wailing maelstrom, signaling that some of the unidentified man's bones had broken, though no one was around to hear the sound. The storm gradually began to lose strength, though it still packed enough force to almost uproot several ancient trees.

In the middle of the clearing, the man opened a pair of deep blue, pain-filled, eyes and let out a loud groan before his eyes slid shut and he fell back into unconsciousness, unaware of what awaited him the next time he awoke.

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General Zargon: There's the prologue right there, and sorry that it's so short, though trust me when I say that it does get better! –Mutters-…I hope…

Ryuuketsu: Ignore him, please, and don't forget to R&R!!

General Zargon: -looks at muse- I don't know why you're so cheerful right now, but keep it up! –Turns to readers- R&R!!


	2. After the Storm

General Zargon: Here's the official chapter 1!! Thank you to all the people who actually bothered to read the prologue!!

Ryuuketsu: And thank you to those who actually reviewed, the author damned near cried when the first one showed up in his inbox.

General Zargon:-eyebrow twitches- Shut. Up. –Pulls out trusty shotgun-

Ryuuketsu: Eep! –Starts running- enjoy the chapter!

General Zargon: Get back here!! –Runs after muse-

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Variana Starwind glanced worriedly at the windows, sensing that something was terribly wrong, and she worried that the windows wouldn't hold against the fury of the storm. The way the wind was wailing and battering rocks against the glass didn't do anything to alleviate her worry. She somehow knew that this was no ordinary storm. The air practically crackled with power, and she figured that even those most oblivious to magic would be able to sense the power snapping throughout the storm. She shivered as she imagined coming face-to-face with something that had enough power to conjure a storm of that magnitude, and the fine hairs at the base of her neck stood on end at the thought.

She looked at the windows again, feeling her worry growing with each second, and she wondered if her tiny little house could weather the storm. She could have sworn that she'd heard something crash outside when the storm had first started. She bit her lip in indecision, actually contemplating going out into the storm and checking to see that nothing important had been damaged by the howling wind, or by what was blowing in the wind. Hearing something smash into the ground outside her door quickly put an end to those thoughts.

She stood up from where she had been sitting on her bed and began to nervously pace the small distance from her bed to the door. As she listened to the storm raging outside, she took a moment to look around her meager dwelling. It was a simple two-room house, the kitchen area being to the immediate right of the door, and the small space passing for a dining room being to the immediate left of the door. The space she used for her sleeping area was directly across from the door, with the medium sized bed lying sideways against the wall, and a door leading to a small closet situated next to the bed. At the far back on the left was the door leading to a small, but clean and serviceable bathroom comprised of a clean, white flushable toilet, a small shower stall, and a small sink. There was also a small medicine cabinet suspended above the sink with a mirror hanging on the door. Back in the main room, at the far back on the right was a small bookcase containing books and scrolls on various subjects, mostly on herbalism, cooking, healing, and magic, but there were some on jewelcrafting and metalworking as well as other odds and ends.

As she looked around the small house, Variana felt a sense of pride fill her. Sure, her house wasn't much, but she had earned everything in the house, and the money to buy the house itself, and she hadn't used any of the money her parents and siblings insisted on sending her. She was shaken from her sense of pride by the sound of a low snarl from the direction of the foot of the bed. She looked over at the bed and raised an eyebrow at the sight of her beloved pet Moonstalker, Gloria, with her hackles raised and snarling out in the direction of the door to the outside. Variana bit her lip uncertainly, knowing that whatever had caused the storm was most likely very, _very_ dangerous as well as powerful, as Gloria didn't normally so much as hiss at anything, let alone snarl.

She ran an elegant hand through her midnight blue tresses and tried to think about what she should do next. Of course, the obvious solution was to wait out the storm, and then go out and see what had been damaged and what could be repaired around her small home. But then, some poor creature out in the storm could have gotten seriously hurt, and she didn't think she could stand to have an innocent's death on her conscience, even if it was an animal's death.

Her sister always had told her that she was too kind-hearted for her own good.

She sighed resignedly and began gathering up her gear, mentally cursing herself for even thinking about doing this. She double-checked her bow and made sure she had an ample supply of arrows in her quiver. Who knew what kind of beasts had been roused by the power-infused storm. She walked over to several shelves that had been put up above the dining table shoved against the wall on a whim of hers. Stored on the shelves were her supply of potions and elixirs, and though she had feared that the way the storm was shaking the walls would have knocked them off, she was relieved that the shelves had held fast.

She carefully examined the potions and then finally decided to take along an Elixir of Healing Power, two Super Rejuvenation Potions, an Insane Strength Potion, one Super Healing Potion, one Minor Healing Potion, and three Healing Potions. She triple-checked to make sure that the potions were secure in her bag before going over to the kitchen side of the house and kneeling down so she could retrieve the First-Aid Kit she had stored there for emergencies. After securing that, she stood and walked over to her nightstand so she could retrieve a small, but still deadly sharp, dagger, which she then slid into the sheath attached to her belt. She silently slid on her tan leather gloves even as she mentally cursed herself, and then knelt down to check again to see if her boots were secure.

Aware that she was merely delaying the inevitable, Variana stood up with a sigh and whistled softly to call Gloria over. The Moonstalker Tiger ceased snarling and obediently hopped off the bed to trot over to her mistress. Variana sighed and stroked Gloria tenderly behind the ear, whispering gently to the tiger, "Come on, girl, you'll get a front row seat to see me do something incredibly stupid." She turned reluctantly back to the door, cautiously walking over to it, now more aware of the howling wind than ever.

She took a deep breath, and then opened the door.

She was forced to jump back at the wind slammed opened the door, almost catching her hand in the process, and the wind came wailing in to her house. She fought against the powerful wind and managed to make it outside, only to have to cling to the side of her home lest she get blown away by the maelstrom. She spotted Gloria hunkering down out of the corner of her eye as she managed to pull the door closed, stopping the wind from doing more damage to the inside of her house. She breathed a sigh of relief, which was immediately lost in the howling wind. She motioned to Gloria to follow her, and then began trudging into the storm-ravaged forest. She kept herself low to the ground, almost crawling on her hands and knees, as she made slow progress into the forest.

She was forced to narrow her silver eyes against the wind, and she could barely make out the shape of several toppled trees, which did nothing to put her at ease. The trees in this particular forest were ancient and very sturdy, so something strong enough to knock one of them over was not to be taken lightly. She shivered and steeled herself before doggedly continuing on. The fierce wind whipped her hair about, causing several strands to fly into her eyes and mouth. She raised her gloved hand and irritably brushed her hair back, wishing that she had thought to tie her hair back before venturing out of her house. She forced herself to look around as she crept along; searching for any sign that might indicate an injured animal. She spotted Gloria creeping along behind her, the tiger faring far better than the Hunter.

The harsh wind whipped across her body, threatening to knock her off her feet if she relaxed even a little bit. The sharp wind opened several cuts on her exposed skin, and she winced as she felt the warm blood slide down a shallow cut on her cheek, only to feel the blood be blown away by the wailing storm. She winced again and continued to struggle against the wind. She stepped over a fallen branch, and almost got blown away before she managed to regain her footing on the other side of the branch. She mentally cursed her conscience for making her leave her house in the first place, but then she was forced to stop and duck down to avoid being killed by a thick branch being blown by the wind. She kept going, keeping herself low to the ground, occasionally looking back to check on Gloria, making her way into the heart of the storm.

Variana cursed aloud, the expletive lost in the wailing of the wind, as her foot became caught under a branch. She cursed again as she struggled to move the heavy branch. She pushed at it ineffectively, before she spotted Gloria out of the corner of her eye. She motioned the tiger over and, when the Moonstalker made it to where her mistress was trapped, motioned for Gloria to help her move the branch off of her foot. Variana hissed as the branch was removed, thanks to the help from Gloria. She carefully prodded her booted foot, deciding that she would be able to make it to the through the storm, and she slowly maneuvered herself back to her feet. She remained in a crouched position for a few minutes, trying to catch her breath, before reaching over to scratch Gloria behind the ears in thanks.

She took a moment to pray to Elune that she would make it out of the forest alive before steeling herself and, mentally apologizing to the tree, used a low-hanging branch to pull herself into a standing position. She hunched into the wind and began to slowly and carefully shove her way through the wall of wind, towards where she sensed the magic of the storm was greatest. She suffered a few more cuts and scrapes, courtesy of the whipping wind, but she managed to stay on her feet. She looked ahead, narrowing her eyes and irritably pushing her thick blue hair out of her face. She could dimly make out a small opening in the trees, and she hoped that meant a place where the wind wouldn't be so rough.

As she approached the opening between the trees, the wind seemed to grow even stronger, if that was even possible, and she found herself suddenly flung off her feet by a particularly strong gust of wind. She flailed out her arms, desperately trying to find something to hold on to, her heart pounding in sudden fear as she struggled to regain her footing. Her hand suddenly struck something hard, and without a second thought she latched onto whatever it was. She clung to the solid shape that she had latched onto and desperately tried to calm her pounding heartbeat. She took deep breaths, her chest heaving as sweat poured down her face, the wind sweeping the drops away almost as quickly as they formed. She dug her gloved hands into the solid surface and closed her eyes, swallowing the lump in her throat and somehow managing to convince her heart to stop trying to burst out of her chest.

She took a moment more to calm down before slowly opening her silver eyes into mere slits as she looked at what it was she was clinging to. _It _turned out to be a very thick and ancient tree, and she hastily apologized to it before looking around and trying to find out how far that gust of wind had pushed her. She looked around the tree and saw Gloria crouched down near the small opening in the trees, which she saw was at least 20 to 30 feet away, as she smiled at Gloria to let the tiger know that she was okay. She took another breath and slowly crawled away from the ancient tree after she had given it one last apology. She kept herself as low to the ground as possible, trying to avoid giving the wind another chance to knock her back again.

As she crawled towards Gloria, she couldn't help noticing in the back of her mind that the wind seemed to be stronger around that opening, almost as if the wind were trying to protect something in the opening. She distantly wondered why that was, but then her mind was drawn to more important things as a very heavy looking branch was suddenly hurtled straight towards her. She gave a rather inelegant shriek and ducked down to the ground as the branch was thrown over her, her cry already drowned out by the wind. She gave another short, pained shriek as the branch landed hard across her back, and she hurriedly prayed to Elune that nothing was broken, either her bones or her arrows.

Her vision went temporarily black, and when color finally returned, she was relieved to find that the wind was slower than it had been when she'd first started out. She slowly began testing out her limbs, and was incredibly relieved when the limbs moved how she wanted them too, which meant that nothing was broken. When she tried to push herself to her feet, however; she found that the branch that had fallen on her was still across her back, and she spat out a few choice curses before she slowly started to wiggle around, hoping to dislodge the branch. No such luck, she found, after several minutes of trying that tactic. Her breasts pressed even harder to the ground as she only succeeded in moving the branch further up her back. She took as deep a breath as she was able with her chest pressed into the earth. She scowled as she moved her arms, trying to get them into position so she could lever herself up and hopefully dislodge the branch on her back.

She tried fruitlessly for several minutes before she was forced to drop back down and admit to herself that the branch was way too heavy for her to lift on her own. As if summoned by her thoughts, she suddenly heard a very familiar growl, and she felt a very familiar sandpaper tongue lick at the back of her hand, her glove having been torn partially off in the storm at some point. She looked up at best she could and was incredibly relieved to see Gloria crouching just a few feet away. She looked Gloria in the eye and told her as clearly and loudly as she could so she could be heard over the still howling wind, "Gloria, I need you to help me get this branch off of me, please help me!" the tiger seemed to understand, as she moved to stand near one end of the branch and began trying to get a good grip on the wood with her jaws, though her large front fangs kept getting in the way.

Variana began trying to push herself up again, trying to help out the Moonstalker in anyway she could. She felt the weight of the branch growing noticeably lighter, so she began trying to crawl out from under it. She crawled as fast as she dared, having no wish to get caught under something again. She got herself free and she turned around to smile at Gloria in relief. The tiger seemed to smile back as she dropped the end of the branch she had picked up onto the ground. Variana ran her hand through her hair and smiled in relief as she maneuvered herself into a crouched position. She looked over at Gloria and smiled as she reached over at scratched the tiger behind the ears appreciatively. She gave the purring Gloria one last scratch behind the ears before patting the tiger on the head and telling her, "Thank you very much; I don't know what I would've done without you." She smiled before turning her attention back to her original destination and abruptly turning serious.

She began crawling on her hands and knees towards the small opening between the trees, abruptly aware of how the wind became stronger the closer she got to the opening. She dug her fingers into the ground and doggedly continued forward. She pressed on against the wind and was almost dragging herself before she finally made it to the opening. She glanced behind her and saw Gloria close at her heels, the tiger having dug her claws into the ground for better traction. She turned her attention back to the opening and, trying to ignore the way the wind continued lashing at her with renewed force, heaved herself through the space and into the clearing beyond.

She groaned as she was thrown to ground by her own momentum, the wind having abruptly stopped the moment she'd passed through the opening. She gasped for breath, relieved to be able to finally breathe easily without having to worry about being thrown off her feet. She looked back out into the forest and was suddenly aware of the utter _silence_ of the forest, as if ever single creature in the forest was gone, or afraid to even make a sound. She shifted nervously to her feet, aware that Gloria now stood at her side. She looked around uneasily, resisting the urge to run back to her house and lock the door, and the first thing she noticed was the sheer _destruction _around the clearing. There were branches scattered about the clearing, along with several thick trees knocked down around the edges, and there were a lot a shallow trenches scatter around, as if the wind had actually clawed up the ground.

The second thing she noticed was the body lying absolutely still in the middle of the clearing. She gasped, her hands rising to cover her mouth in shock and horror. The body was lying face down, which made her worry that whoever it was had suffocated, and several of its' limbs were twisted into awkward angles, which made her cringe and wince in sympathy just by imagining the pain the person must be feeling. She swallowed her fear and slowly approached the body, having to be careful not to step into any of the shallow trenches or trip over any of the branches scattered around. She carefully approached the crumpled body, unable to tell whether the person was elf or human at first glance. She made out a few strands of golden hair amidst the blood-soaked mane so that ruled out a number of possible races.

Variana walked up to the bodies side, and she kneeled down next to its' side. She carefully looked over what she could see, unsure if she should attempt to move it incase she injured it further. She bit her lip and decided to take the risk, since she didn't even know if the person was alive or not. She hesitantly placed her hands on the body's side and carefully rolled it over so that it was face up, and that's when she saw that the figure was a male. She glanced over the unconscious male and mentally cursed, as she had no idea of how to tell if there was internal bleeding or not, in addition to the obvious injuries. She looked at the closest limb to her, which happened to be the male's right arm, and examined the angle it was bent at. She cringed in sympathy as she gently grabbed the limb and swiftly snapped it back into a proper position, causing the unconscious man to yell out in pain, which made her feel very guilty.

She mentally cried for the man's suffering, and she said a heartfelt prayer to Elune that he would heal properly. She looked at the man's right leg, and could immediately tell that it had to be even more painful than his arm had been. She took a deep breath and seized the leg and as quickly and smoothly as possible snapped it back into place, drawing another agonized wail from the unconscious man. She whimpered in sympathy for his pain, feeling her own leg ache in sympathy. She looked over his body again, finding that his left ankle was swollen, though it didn't seem to be broken, so she left it alone as she continued examining the man. Even though she was examining him for injuries, she couldn't help noticing how strangely he was dressed. His pants, stained with blood and torn as they were, appeared to be made of some foreign, strangely rough fabric that clung to his skin. His shirt, what little she could actually see through the blood and grime, was a light shade of blue with something written on it, though she couldn't really make anything out because of the large tears in the fabric.

Variana shook herself out of her appraisal of the man's strange clothing, and returned to looking over his form to see what other injuries he had. She noticed a wicked looking gash in his side, and winced in sympathetic pain as she gently prodded the wound to see if anything was lodged in it. She tried to ignore the whimper of pain from the man at her prodding, but her heart ached in sympathy for his pain. Reassured that nothing had gotten lodged in the gash, she looked over the man's unconscious form and sighed in relief when she saw that other than a few more moderate scrapes, she didn't see any other severe wounds. She carefully pulled out her traveling bag and cautiously pulled out her first-aid kit. She set the box on the ground next to her and opened it up, relieved when she saw that nothing had been damaged in the process of getting to the clearing. She swallowed nervously and pulled out some wool bandages, mentally promising herself that she would re-bandage the man's wounds with better quality bandages later.

She slowly and carefully unraveled the roll of bandages, trying desperately not to damage the fragile cloth. She gently placed the end of the wool bandage against the bottom of the man's side wounds, and gently began to wind the bandage around his torso. She had to lift him up in order to get the bandage all the way around his torso, which drew a whimper of pain from him, and in turn made her wince in sympathy as she continued to wrap the bandages firmly around the man's torso. She firmly tied the bandages off, and sighed in relief that that part was over. She turned her attention to the unconscious man's arm, and frowned as she tried to figure out how to make a splint for that with the supplies she had. She finally spotted several branches that were long enough to serve the purpose of holding the man's arm straight, so after spreading the man's arm out straight and wrapping it in one layer of wool bandages, she placed one branch under the man's arm and one on top of it, and then proceeded to firmly wrap the man's arm, branches and all, in another two layers of bandages, making sure that the branches didn't shift even a millimeter. She breathed out a sigh of relief once she finished that, and then turned her attention to the man's right leg. She managed to straighten that out as gently as possible, only drawing a few whimpers from the unconscious man, and then looked around the clearing for two other branches that could be used to make a splint for the leg.

She looked into her first-aid kit and scowled as she saw that she had used up almost all of the wool bandages on the man's arm and torso, which she then noticed were already soaked with blood, turning them a brilliant ruby red, showing that she would have to change the bandages immediately after she got him back to her house. She took a deep breath to steel herself, only to jump when she heard a purr right next to her head. She twisted around, as much as she could given her position at any rate, and nearly went limp in relief as she saw Gloria sitting there. The Moonstalker had apparently been sitting there for some time, at least long enough to know what Variana was searching for, as there were two branches of nearly equal length laying at the tiger's feet. Variana smiled gratefully, rubbing Gloria behind the ears, both in apology for forgetting her, and in thanks for finding the branches.

Variana rubbed Gloria behind the ears once more before turning her attention back to bandaging up the unconscious man. She picked up the branches carefully and twisted back to her original position, scowling as she saw that she didn't have enough wool bandages to completely bandage the leg. She set the branches down carefully and dug through her first-aid kit desperately, giving a cry of triumph when she located a roll of heavy linen bandages. Sure, heavy linen bandages weren't as good as wool bandages, but they were all she had for the time being. She put the last of the wool bandages back into the first-aid kit and pulled out the heavy linen bandages. She carefully wrapped one layer of heavy linen bandages around the injured leg, and then gently pressed the branches firmly to either side of the leg. Making sure that the branches didn't shift in the slightest, she gently and firmly wrapped another layer of heavy linen bandages around the injured limb. She decided not to take any chances on the makeshift splint shifting and ruining her work, so she added another layer of heavy linen bandages, making sure the bandages were wrapped as firmly as they could be without causing the unconscious man anymore pain.

She sat back on her heels and felt a sense of pride as she surveyed her handiwork. Sure, it wasn't the best job in the world, but it was the best she could do with the supplies she had. Of course, then reality came crashing in, trampling her sense of accomplishment and drawing her attention to one important question: how in the name of the One True Goddess was she supposed to get this injured and unconscious man back to her house?! She groaned as she allowed her head to drop forward into her hands as she mulled the problem over in her mind. She looked up, however, as Gloria crossed the short distance between them and gently nuzzled her, the tiger purring all the while. Variana smiled tiredly as she reached up and stroked the Moonstalker behind the ears gently, crooning her thanks to the tiger. The hunter sighed as she dropped her hand and looked around the clearing, hoping against hope that there was something around that she could possibly use to transport the man to her house.

Variana was just about to give up when Gloria nudged more forcefully at her, giving a louder purr to get the distracted hunter's attention. Variana frowned up at Gloria and asked her, somewhat rhetorically, "What is it, girl? Something wrong?" the tiger gave her an irritated look and trotted a few feet away before tossing her head towards her back and then looking at the unconscious man lying a few feet away. The Moonstalker looked back at Variana expectantly, as if she was trying to say, _'That clear enough for you?'_ Variana felt her face heat up in embarrassment; realization dawning on her face as she finally understood what Gloria had been trying to tell her. She smiled sheepishly at the smug-looking tiger and stood up stiffly, asking the smug tiger, "Think you can carry him all the way back to the house, girl?" the Moonstalker looked proud as she nodded and moved as close to the man as she could, and then lied down, so that Variana could get him onto her back easier. Variana frowned uncertainly, knowing that it would be nearly impossible for her to lift his heavy frame by herself without injuring him further, before she abruptly remembered the potions she had packed before she had left the house. Her face lit up and she grinned as she hurriedly knelt next to her bag and dug through as quickly as she could, her face lighting up in triumph as she located the unbroken Insane Strength Potion. She set the potion down carefully and quickly packed up what remained of her first-aid kit, carefully tucking it back into her bag and swinging that cautiously onto her back and then picking up the potion she had set aside.

She uncorked the bottle and took a deep breath before chugging back the bitter potion and forcing herself not to spit it out, telling herself that the taste meant that it was working. She threw the empty bottle back into her pack and hurriedly knelt down beside the unconscious man and swiftly lifted him up into her arms, trying to be as gentle as she could as she carefully arranged him across Gloria's back so that his splints would be knocked loose and he wouldn't be jarred too much. She sighed in relief when she finally accomplished all she could in regards to making him comfortable before motioning to Gloria to stand up carefully. The Moonstalker nodded and slowly and carefully stood up, trying not to jar the precious cargo on her back. The tiger looked up at her mistress and waited impatiently for the hunter to indicate that it was okay to start walking.

Variana took a deep breath, getting accustomed to the feeling of enhanced strength, and placed a slender hand on the middle of the unconscious man's back in order to hold him steady. She took another breath and nodded to Gloria, signaling that it was okay to move. They began walking slowly towards the hole in the trees that they had originally come through, and Variana kept an eye open for any animal that might have been stirred up by the storm. Oddly enough, the forest was entirely silent, as though the animals were too scared to make any noise. Not even the bugs were making any noise, which Variana found extremely unsettling. She made sure to keep the unconscious man steady on Gloria's back, but she also rested a hand on her dagger just in case something was waiting to ambush them. She glanced around cautiously, before looking back at Gloria, and feeling her breath catch in her throat. Apparently, the man's numerous scratches were more serious than she had thought, as they had begun bleeding profusely, staining Gloria's formally black and white coat a bright red.

The hunter took a breath and continued holding the man steady, though she urged Gloria a little faster; knowing that she had to treat the man's other wounds as soon as possible. She had to step carefully over broken branches and vines lying along the narrow trail she and Gloria had taken through the forest, she hadn't really paid much attention to the obstacles on the way there, but now that they were transporting the injured man back to her home, she was acutely aware of every single branch and vine lying in their way to her house. She had to steady the man when he tilted dangerously to one side of Gloria's back when the tiger had to hop over large branches, but she felt that they were making good time, despite all the debris that littered the way.

Variana took a deep breath and felt the extra strength the Insane Strength Potion had given her fade. She worried about how she would get the man inside her house, but she shook her head firmly and told herself that she would cross that bridge when she came to it. She steeled herself and looked back ahead, resolutely promising herself that nothing would stop her from getting this injured and unconscious man back to her house and treating his wounds. Easier thought than done, she realized, as she had to haul his front half back onto Gloria's back, drawing an agonized whimper from him, when the tiger twisted sharply to avoid a branch jutting up from the ground. The tiger whimpered in worry as she stepped as lightly and gently as she could to avoid jostling her passenger, sensing that his condition was dire indeed, as the warm blood soaking her fur would attest to. Gloria looked ahead and took the safest and least jostling route she could find back towards her mistress' house, knowing that even the slightest jolt could cause her cargo a lot of pain.

The hunter herself was lost in trying to carefully maneuver her way around jutting branches and tripping vines, all the while staying by the Moonstalker's side to keep the unconscious man steady across the tiger's back. She kept her hand firmly on the man's back, but that also meant she sometimes had to twist her body into nearly impossible, and painful, positions in order to stay next to him. She refused to leave the man's side, however, gritting her teeth and telling herself that the minor discomfort that she was going through was nothing compared to the pain that the man must be feeling. She quickly sidestepped the sharp remains of what had once been an ancient tree, and continued guiding Gloria towards her house, worrying that the injured man's time might be running out.

Far away in the depths of an unexplored part of the Outlands, an enormous dark leviathan raised its' head and turned it towards where it sensed the giant shockwaves of magic coming from. Obviously some very powerful magic had been performed for the shockwaves to have reached its' current location, the leviathan decided, and that warranted investigating in its' opinion. With that in mind, the dark leviathan stood up and stretched out its' enormous wings and took flight, heading towards where it knew the shockwaves had originated.

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General Zargon: Hope you all enjoyed that chapter!

Ryuuketsu:-out of breath- you spent the entire chapter chasing me around, how can you still be so cheerful!?

General Zargon:-shifty eyes- my secret…anyway! –Turns to readers- please R&R!!

Ryuuketsu:-takes a deep breath- yeah, R&R!!


	3. Getting Home and Treating Wounds

General Zargon: Chapter 2!!-Does the Macarena- I'd like to thank all the readers who've stuck with me for this long!

Ryuuketsu: Believe it or not, after he uploaded the last chapter he immediately began typing up this chapter.

General Zargon: -smacks muse on the back of the head- shut up! –Whispers- they weren't supposed to know that.

Ryuuketsu:-rolls eyes- whatever. –Turns to readers- enjoy the chapter.

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The sight of her small house peeking through the trees, Variana decided, was the most beautiful thing she had seen in a _long_ time. She breathed a sigh of relief as she urged Gloria to go a little faster, though she made sure that the tiger's unconscious, injured passenger wouldn't fall off. She kept one slender hand on his back, her concentration divided between holding him steady, and avoiding protruding roots, branches, and slender vines lying on the ground, waiting to trip up the unwary. Her bright silver eyes quickly darted around, searching every shadow for something dangerous that might be waiting to ambush them, having been attracted by the smell of blood. She sighed in relief as she saw that nothing was lurking around her small home, and she smiled brightly in relief as they reached the door to her house. She glanced around quickly, and she immediately grimaced at the damage she saw done to the outside of her home, and she didn't doubt that there was some damage she _couldn't _see. She sighed sadly and promised herself that once she had treated her impromptu patient, she would work on repairing the damage to her home and the small area around it. She shook herself out of her thoughts when she heard Gloria's worried whine, and she immediately opened the door to her home when she saw that the man's wounds had begun bleeding even more, if that was even possible.

Variana ushered Gloria into the house, and she immediately shut the sturdy wooden door after the tiger and her injured passenger were safely inside. She guided Gloria to the bed, and once the tiger was alongside it, she frowned worriedly as she pondered over how to get the man to the bed without jarring him even more and tearing his wounds open even more. She looked down at the injured man, and she felt a wave of panic rise up in her stomach when she saw the blood flowing from the numerous scratches on his skin and staining Gloria's fur an even darker shade of red. She looked around hurriedly, searching for anything she could possibly use to help move the man as quickly and gently as possible. After several minute of fruitless searching, she finally turned helplessly back to the man and felt the wave of panic rise just as Gloria let out another worried whine. She took a deep breath to steel herself before hesitantly sliding her hands under the man's torso and whispering to him, her voice shaking, "I am so sorry, I hope you can forgive me if you live through this." With that, she gritted her teeth and heaved.

She managed to ignore the man's pained scream at the sudden movement, and she was vastly relieved when she managed to heave the man onto her rather small bed on the first try, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she straightened out the man's limbs, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. She was startled when she noticed that the man's legs were actually hanging off the end of the bed. She frowned as she walked the few short steps to the dining room side of the house, looking around for anything she could use to prop the man's injured leg up on. She spotted the rather short stool that she used as a nightstand, and she smiled as she noticed that it was about the same height as the end of her bed. She was hauling it around the bed and positioning it so that the man's injured and wrapped leg was resting on it almost as soon as that thought had formed. She smiled as she grabbed a cushion from one of her dining room chairs and slipped it under the man's leg so that it wasn't resting directly on the hard wood of the stool.

Variana turned seriously the moment she caught sight of the blood soaking through her previously clean bed, and she frantically ran to the bathroom and began combing through the medicine cabinet for some better quality bandages and salves to help the man's wounds heal. She gave a cry of triumph when she found some heavy runecloth bandages stashed at the back of the cabinet for emergencies. Well, she thought, this definitely counts as an emergency! She grabbed the bandages and a few herbal salves that would help his wounds heal faster. She barely remembered to close the cabinet before she ran back out into the main area of her house. She swiftly crossed the small distance to the bed, and quickly sank to her knees at the unconscious man's side. She quickly began cleaning the man's bleeding wounds, and she tried to ignore the soft whimpers coming from the man. She gently wiped off the blood around the worst of the wounds, and then covered the wound with some of the healing salves as gently and quickly as she could. She firmly wrapped the man's wounds in the heavy runecloth bandages, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the salves were already starting to work their magic on the man's wounds. Thankfully, the worst of the bleeding had stopped, and the scrapes weren't nearly as bad as the gash in his side that she had wrapped up out of the forest.

She bit her lip as she looked at the blood soaked bandages wrapped around the man's side, and winced as she began unwinding them as quickly and gently as she could. She winced as she tried to peel the bandages away from the man's side, but apparently the dried blood had acted like a kind of glue, and the bandages were well and truly plastered to the man's skin. She chewed on his lip absently as she thought of how she could possibly get the bandages away from the gash without causing the man anymore pain, and she scowled when she realized that the only way she could get the bandages off would be to yank them away quickly. She grimaced and softly whispered an apology to the unconscious man as she grabbed hold of the dangling end of the bandage and swiftly yanked, only to have to use all her strength to hold the man down as he arched off to the bed in response to the pain. She whimpered in sympathy as she tried desperately to block out the man's loud scream of pain, and she breathed a sigh of relief when he went limp again. She took a deep breath steel herself as she began quickly covering the gash and surrounding skin in healing salves, and then started wrapping the heavy runecloth bandages around the man's torso once she was done with that. She winced when she realized that the gash had started to bleed again almost as soon as she'd ripped the old bandage off. She quickly said a heartfelt prayer to Elune that the poor man wouldn't bleed out before she managed to properly treat his wounds. She didn't pause in her work bandaging the gash, even as she recited every prayer to Elune that she remembered.

She finished wrapping the gash in the man's side and tied off the bandage firmly, doing all she could to staunch the bleeding. She breathed a sigh of relief, happy that she finished that before the poor man had bled out. She turned her attention to the man's arm and was relieved to see that the make-shift splint had held up to the journey to her house. She double-checked it just to be safe and tightened it a little bit more, wanting to make sure that the arm healed properly. She winced at the small whimper that came from the man, and she gently stroked the blood-matted hair away from the man's face, crooning gently to him in order to calm him down. After a few minutes, the man's whimpers subsided, and she smiled in relief as she returned to bandaging a few of the more serious cuts to keep them from getting infected. She was relieved to see that only a few of the cuts were actually worth bandaging, since she had already treated the worst of the man's injuries, and she was already running out of heavy runecloth bandages. She made a mental note to restock her medical supplies at the earliest opportunity. She turned her gaze to the man's propped up leg and examined it closely, wanting to make sure that nothing had jarred loose. Seeing that nothing was jarred, she sighed in relief as she sat back on her heels and pondered what to do next. She supposed the next thing that she should do is get the poor man out of his ruined clothes. Not that there was much left of them anyway, she thought to herself as she grabbed hold of some of the scraps of cloth and set about ripping them apart, so that she wouldn't have to try and move the man's injured limbs in order to remove them. She gritted her teeth and tried to be as gentle as possible as she pulled apart the scraps of what she thought once might have been a shirt, and then removed the torn ribbons of cloth from the man's body. She worried that she might hurt the poor man even more, so she tried desperately to be as gentle as she possibly could.

Variana breathed a sigh of relief when the man didn't so much as twitch, and then she realized that she had to remove the man's pants as well, since they were splattered with blood, not to mention torn all to the Twisting Nether. She blushed furiously and tried to keep her hands from trembling as she reached for the odd metal tab barely visible on the strange leggings. She figured that the metal tab was used to help remove the strangely-made pants, but she wasn't really sure. She hesitantly grasped the metal tab gingerly between her thumb and forefinger and began gently wiggling it, trying to figure out which way it was supposed to be pulled, though to be honest, she had a hunch it was supposed to be pulled downwards. Her hunch proved correct, as the tab slid easily downwards, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she quickly undid the button above where the metal tab had been. She blushed furiously as she gently slid the strangely made leggings down the man's hips, relieved when she saw that he was wearing some long underwear made of yet more unidentifiable fabric. She managed to get one of the man's legs out of the strange pants, but found that she couldn't get the fabric over the cast encasing the man's other leg.

She frowned, knowing that she couldn't just leave the man's pants half-on and half-off. She picked up her dagger and began carefully slicing through the strange fabric, which was oddly resistant to the dagger's blade. Once she had cut the leggings into ribbons of fabric, it was easy enough to pull the remains of the leggings away from the cast. She put the intact half of the leggings and the ribbons of strange fabric in a pile next to the piles of fabric that had once been a shirt beside the bed. She sat back on her heels and frowned, trying to think of anything else she could do to make the man more comfortable, since Elune knew that he had been put through enough pain for one day. She stood up slowly, her legs protesting the movement after sitting still for so long. She ran her left hand through her hair and looked over at Gloria, who was lounging in the kitchen area near the stove. She walked over and knelt next to the tiger and gently stroked her behind the ears as she told her, "Gloria, you stay here and make sure that nothing happens to our guest while I go out and see what damage that storm did to the outside of the house." The tiger nodded her head and got up to pad over to the side of the bed. Gloria laid down next to the bed and set her head between her paws, keeping her ears perked up and her eyes open, along with her claws unsheathed, a pose Variana recognized as her 'guarding pose', a posture the tiger only assumed when she was alert and ready to attack at a moment's notice. The Hunter nodded in satisfaction as she stood back up and retrieved her dagger from beside the bed where she had laid it before she sheathed it at her side once again.

Variana walked around her small house and gathered up her weapons, just in case something dangerous ventured too close, before she exited the house. She closed the door behind her, and then began walking around the house, wincing every so often when she saw some serious damage, like the fact that the little herb garden she kept out back was completely torn apart by the ferocious winds, none of the plants salvageable. The entire garden would need to be replanted. The stack of firewood that she kept outside was also scattered every which way, some of the logs actually reduced to splinters from being thrown about so vigorously. She gathered up as much of the intact wood that she could, piling it up against the side of the house where the stack had once occupied, but much of the wood was unsalvageable. She continued walking around and assessing the damage done to her small home, though she was relieved that it didn't seem to be so serious that it would require repairs. Her heart filled with pride that her small home had been able to weather such a powerful storm, and she made a mental note to mention the power-infused storm to her parents in her next message to them, since it could mean that something bad was going on. Maybe some new mage or something conjured the storm as a distraction from a really nasty spell, she theorized, as she walked back around to the front of the house and entered the house again, making sure to close the door gently behind her and making sure that it was locked. She walked over to the cabinets in the kitchen area and looking through them in search of something simple to make, preferably something easy to swallow as well, since she didn't think her guest could handle solid food while unconscious. She scowled when she saw that all she had was two Small Eggs and some Crocolisk Meat that she had bought on a whim in Blackwind Landing when she had gone there for supplies a few months ago. She scowled even more when she looked in refrigerator and saw that she had only a bit of Ice Cold Milk left, and some Holiday Spirits, full, since she rarely, if ever, drank.

She sighed, knowing that she would have to go to Blackwind Landing alone for supplies; since there was no way that she was leaving her unconscious patient alone, not only because he could wake up at any moment, but something might break into her house and kill him. She groaned miserably, knowing that she was going to have to haggle as if her life depended on it in order to be able to pay for enough supplies to last the entire month, and not to mention the fact that she had to buy some clothes for her unexpected guest. She just knew that she would never live it down if her sister ever got wind of the fact that she was buying _men's_ clothing, and she didn't even want to think about how her parents would react to that particular piece of information. She looked over at Gloria and told the tiger, "Well girl, looks like I'll have to be going to Blackwind Landing for supplies tomorrow. We're about out of food, and I'd like to get enough supplies to last us another few months, and let's not forget the fact that we have an extra mouth to feed." The tiger gave her mistress a sympathetic look, knowing that their coin purse was very light this month, so her mistress would have to do some heavy bargaining in order to have any left over. Variana sighed again as she closed the refrigerator and stood up, wincing as her sore muscles protested the sudden movement. It seemed that the abuse her body had taken in the storm decided to make itself known now that the adrenaline had worn off and she was safe at home.

Variana winced as she walked into the bathroom, her back aching in protest to the movement. She quietly closed the door to the bathroom and began removing her upper body armor, knowing that she had to assess the damage. The muscles in her arms and back protested the movement, and she bit her lip to avoid making any noise as she let her upper body armor drop to the floor, flinching at the loud thud it made as the heavy leather came into contact with the floor. She looked into the mirror and blanched, shocked at the bruises across her skin. Well, she thought to herself, I suppose it could be worse. She shuddered at the thought of how bad the bruises might have been if she hadn't been wearing her armor. She returned her gaze to the mirror and began critically examining the bruises, trying to see if they were serious enough to warrant covering them with some of the weaker healing salves that she hadn't used on her impromptu patient's wounds, that is. Most of the bruises, she saw, were concentrated on the area where the second branch had pinned her to the ground. Dark purple bruises extended from her lower left ribs up across her chest to end at her right shoulder, but she decided that they weren't serious enough to warrant using up the last of some of her weaker salves.

She turned around and craned her neck to see what her back looked like, only to wish that she hadn't. Her back looked about three times worse than her front. Apparently, the branch that had knocked her out had been larger than she had thought, since her entire upper back seemed to be one big bruise. She winced and turned her head back to its' proper position before she started digging through her medicine cabinet for what she had left of her weaker healing salves. Her front may not need it, she thought blackly, but that branch had certainly made sure that her back did. She scowled as she saw that she barely had enough healing salve to cover a third of that giant bruise that was her back. She sighed in resignation as she removed the container of healing salve from the cabinet and set it on the counter as she closed the cabinet door. She winced as she pulled the muscles of her back, and she gingerly unscrewed the lid of the container of healing salve. She winced again as she coated her right hand in healing salve, and then used it to reach behind her and begin working the healing salve into the bruise on her back. She frowned at the uncomfortable position, but she knew that unless she had someone else around to help, she was stuck with doing the best she could.

Variana sighed in relief when she finished putting the last of the healing salve on her back, and she groaned lightly as she rolled her shoulders to remove the stiffness that had settled into her muscles. She sighed again in relief when the healing salve began to work, and the pain in her back began fading. She bit her lip as she wondered whether or not she should risk going out into the main room, though she knew her guest was unlikely to wake up anytime soon. She finally decided to risk it, since she knew that she couldn't risk putting her armor back on with the healing salve on her back. She nodded to herself when she reached her decision, and she stooped down to pick up her upper body armor, deciding to move it to one of the few chairs she had in the main room instead of just leaving it on the floor of the bathroom. She held her armor with one hand while she opened the door with the other and strode out into the main room. She made her way over to the chair sitting in the kitchen, and set her armor down on the seat, sighing in relief when she was able to get rid of the armor's weight. She looked over at her guest, and was relieved that he hadn't woken up, since she had no intention of having him see her topless anytime soon. She looked at Gloria, and grimaced when she saw the condition of the Moonstalker's fur. Gloria's previously black and white coat was now died a deep red, and from what Variana could see, the fur was glued together in some places. Variana winced as she called over to the tiger, "Come on, girl. Looks like we'll have to get you cleaned up." The tiger wrinkled her muzzle but stood up and padded over to her mistress, knowing that getting the blood out of her fur would only help in the long-run.

The Hunter smiled as she led Gloria outside, making sure to shut the door securely after the tiger, and then began walking over to the barrel of water next to the house. She was incredibly relieved that the barrel of water hadn't been overturned by the storm, but that was probably just dumb luck more than anything else. Regardless, Variana was grateful that the barrel of water hadn't been overturned. She motioned for Gloria to lie down next to the barrel of water, and then she went back inside the house to retrieve some soup and a washcloth. Variana went back outside and knelt next to Gloria, dipping the washcloth in the water and wringing it out before rubbing the soap on the cloth and working up a lather. The Hunter smiled as she began scrubbing Gloria's fur thoroughly, working the lather deep into the thick fur. Variana worked gently at the clumps of fur, tenderly pulling apart the strands and scrubbing the blood out. Variana squeezed out the washcloth and rinsed it before re-lathering it and going back to scrubbing. The Hunter continued scrubbing the tiger thoroughly, determined to get as much of the blood out as she could, and for her part, Gloria held as still as possible to make it easier for her mistress to rinse the blood out of her fur.

After an hour or so of repeated washing, Variana managed to wash most of the blood out of the Moonstalker's fur, and she also managed to untangle all the glued together patches of fur. The Hunter sat back on her heels and placed her hands on her hips as she examined her handiwork with a sense of pride. Gloria purred loudly, pleased to have the blood out of her fur before it began to stink, and she nuzzled her mistress's bare torso in thanks. Variana laughed as she scratched the tiger behind the ears, and then laughed even harder as she teasingly pushed the tiger off of her and stood up, groaning as her legs protested the sudden movement. The Hunter scowled as she rubbed at her knees, trying to ease the stiffened muscles enough that she could walk around and work out the rest of the cramps without too much pain. She grabbed hold of the now-dirty barrel of water and began to pour it out, seeing as it was useless now. After emptying the barrel and setting it out where it would be able to collect rainwater, she began walking around to work out the cramps in her legs. She decided to do something productive while walking, and therefore began examining the surrounding forest, trying to see if any creatures had come out of hiding yet. She heard Gloria walk up behind her, and she relaxed minutely, knowing that the tiger was there if she needed her. Variana frowned in confusion, wondering what could have had the animals in the forest so scared that even now, with the magic-infused storm over, they were still too afraid to come out of hiding.

She shook her head, sending several strands of midnight blue hair flying, and decided not to worry about that now, seeing as she had better get back inside her house to check up on her 'guest'. She turned and walked back to her modest home, smiling as she heard Gloria follow her. She opened the door and walked in first, holding the door open for Gloria, and then gently shutting it once the tiger's tail was clear. She turned to face the interior of her home, and then walked over to where she stored her coin pouch when she was there. She pulled it out from where she had hidden it, and she groaned out loud as she realized that her coin pouch was lighter than she had thought. She looked mournfully at the remaining coins, counting two gold, twenty silver, and forty copper coins. Not a lot, considering that she would have to buy a month's worth of supplies the next time she went to town, which would be very soon, since she had to restock on first-aid supplies, food, and not to mention some clothing for her patient. She closed up her coin pouch and set it back where she had gotten it before standing up and frowning uncertainly, knowing that the coins she had were not nearly enough to buy all the she needed. She sighed in frustration, not sure what she could do to get more money on such short notice, since she was planning on getting everything she needed on one trip.

Variana turned around and walked back over to Gloria, kneeling next to the tiger and ignoring the concerned look that the Moonstalker sent her mistress. The Hunter began scratching Gloria gently behind the ears and asked her quietly, "I don't suppose that you would know of anyway for me to earn more money without having to go on any missions, would you?" she wasn't really expecting an answer, so when Gloria stood up abruptly and went trotting over to one of the small tables that inhabited her home, she was understandably startled. She stood up after a moment and walked over to where Gloria was standing impatiently, and she watched in surprise as the tiger gestured with a paw towards the items scattered on the table top. Variana looked at the things on the tabletop and mentally listed to herself, '_A book on Herbalism that I forgot to put back on the shelf, the pair of Diamond earrings, that I've never worn, that my sister's future husband sent me in an attempt to gain my favor, and two Dreaming Glory herbs that I picked a few days ago…_' her thoughts went screeching to a halt as her eyes zeroed in on the softly glowing herbs. The hunter looked at the tiger and exclaimed, "You're right! Some of the herbs found in this forest sell for very high prices!" Gloria looked very smug, proud that her mistress had guessed what she had meant without too much trouble.

The hunter began running around the small house, gathering up her bow and arrows, and securing her herb pouch to her belt. She stopped short, however, when she realized that she needed to put on her upper body armor if she wanted to go out gathering herbs, no matter how safe the surrounding forest seemed. She winced; hoping that the healing salve she had spread over the bruise on her back had soaked in and wouldn't stain the leather of her armor. She picked up the heavy leather and shrugged it on carefully, making sure that she didn't strain the muscles of her back too much. She was relieved when her armor settled on her shoulders easily, and she didn't feel any of the healing salve rubbing off. She made sure that she had at least two Healing Potions stashed in her potion bag, and that her dagger was secure at her side. She froze, however, when she jerked open the door, intending to run out and start collecting herbs, only to see what time it was. It was pitch dark outside, and even though her kind had excellent night-vision, it was still incredibly difficult for her to see, when normally she wouldn't have had a problem navigating the foreboding forest, even at night, but she didn't want to risk getting lost in that blackness. Not even the two moons overhead provided enough light to see by, the hunter saw as she looked up cautiously. She went back inside the house, shutting the door firmly and locking it, knowing that she would have to wait until tomorrow before she could go herb gathering.

Variana turned back towards the inside of her modest home and said to the confused tiger, "It is too dark to risk going out and trying to find herbs. I will have to wait until tomorrow to go out." The tiger now looked even more confused, since she knew her mistress had very good night-vision. The hunter smiled to reassure the tiger before taking off her weapons and packs before going into the bathroom and shutting the door. She began to take off her armor, all the while her mind burned with questions. She walked out of the bathroom, pausing to set her upper body armor and the armor she wore on her lower half on the table, and she walked over to the small closet. She pulled out a simple leather shirt and shrugged it on, knowing that she would have to sleep on the floor with Gloria that night, and possibly many nights to come. She looked down at herself and nodded; certain that if her guest woke up in the middle of the night, no matter how unlikely that was, she would be decent enough to see to him. She sighed and walked over to Gloria, crouching next to the tiger and scratching her behind the ears before settling herself all the way on the floor and laying her head on Gloria's soft, furred side. She gave the tiger one last scratch behind the ears before bringing her hand to rest beside her and falling into a light, and uncomfortable, sleep.

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General Zargon: I am so sorry this chapter took so long!!

Ryuuketsu: The author has a lot of projects going on, so don't expect regular updates, but rest assured that this story will be finished.

General Zargon:-nods- Yeah, so R&R!!

Ryuuketsu: Yeah, R&R


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